{"id":1317386,"date":"2019-12-23T22:52:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T05:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/purcell-column-amid-such-a-clatter-heres-what-really-should-matter\/"},"modified":"2019-12-23T22:52:00","modified_gmt":"2019-12-24T05:52:00","slug":"purcell-column-amid-such-a-clatter-heres-what-really-should-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/purcell-column-amid-such-a-clatter-heres-what-really-should-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"Purcell column: Amid such a clatter, here\u2019s what really should matter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u2018Twas the night before Christmas, when all through America, people were angry or delighted, and most uncomplimentary.<\/p>\n

Despite it being the time of the year to unite, gather and share good cheer, the president\u2019s impeachment turned the country on its ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh crimes for certain,\u201d his opponents did claim, \u201cbecause since his election we\u2019ve been taking aim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot so fast,\u201d did his defenders retort, \u201c\u2018high crimes\u2019 demand the highest bar and your argument fell short.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an unconventional president,\u201d his defenders continued, \u201cuncouth to be sure, but with good intent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe economy is flourishing, which is just what we need, to address other challenges and do so quickly indeed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe deficit is massive and requires trimming, our failing health care, roads and schools also demand reckoning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what of the environment?\u201d his opponents declare. \u201cThis president denies it\u2019s an issue and plumb doesn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe gets under our skin and makes us wild with rage, we must remove him from office and put him in a cage!<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is noble, why can\u2019t you see, that we must damage and discredit Trump before 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he\u2019s elected again, and we fear he may be, he could appoint a third judge to the Supreme Court judiciary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat we cannot allow and never will we agree, to leave elections up to the people in a faltering democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so commenced an unpleasant debate, one with no middle, just two sides of irate.<\/p>\n

But Christmas and Hanukkah have finally arrived, a time of the year to reappraise.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re not so divided as many may think, we are not yet near the brink.<\/p>\n

In the history of our incredible republic, you see, we\u2019ve survived far worse controversy.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget our own Civil War, 620,000 Americans died in that awful uproar.<\/p>\n

If only the country had heeded the words President Lincoln did speak, during his first inauguration week:<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not enemies, but friends,\u201d he read, and warned about high passions straining our bonds of affection as they spread.<\/p>\n

He urged us to rise above emotional thinking by every measure, by embracing \u201cthe better angels of our nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

By failing to listen to what Lincoln said, our young country suffered misery, death and destruction instead.<\/p>\n

And though it may appear nobody knows \u201cwhere to\u201d from here, one principle remains clear.<\/p>\n

This democracy is ours and should reflect the will of we the people. If you are not happy with what you are seeing, get to the voting booth promptly.<\/p>\n

Call or write your congressperson and pen letters to the editor. Engage, speak out, help us regain a commonsense center.<\/p>\n

Renew with your neighbors civil debate, be respectful and inquisitive, not filled with anger and hate.<\/p>\n

The holiday season has arrived this year, let\u2019s get back to enjoying and spreading good cheer.<\/p>\n

Our country is a continuous work in progress and much needs to be done, but let\u2019s remember our blessings and how to have fun.<\/p>\n

We have the power to love or to hate. We choose to be happy or irate.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s unleash our nature\u2019s better angels instead. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays are what should be said!<\/p>\n

May your homes be happy, your families be swell! May the New Year be your best year ,\u2019 and our country\u2019s as well!<\/p>\n

Send comments to Tom at Tom@TomPurcell.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018Twas the night before Christmas, when all through America, people were angry or delighted, and most uncomplimentary. Despite it being the time of the year to unite, gather and share good cheer, the president\u2019s impeachment turned the country on its ear. \u201cHigh crimes for certain,\u201d his opponents did claim, \u201cbecause since his election we\u2019ve been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1317386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-21 19:00:55","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317386\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}